The subject invention relates to a programming assembly for selectively interconnecting electrical circuit paths to control the function of electrical and/or electronic equipment. The subject assembly includes in combination a plurality of printed circuit boards which are stacked in a deck one above another in spaced apart relationship and contact pins which connect the printed circuit boards at the various levels with one another. The pins may either be shorting pins or they may contain components such as diodes, resistors, capacitors, lamps, etc. In known programming assemblies each of the printed circuit boards includes a plurality of columns and rows of apertures. In addition, each circuit board includes sets of spring socket contacts associated with the printed circuit board apertures, the contacts of one printed circuit board being disposed along the rows of apertures, the contacts of the adjacent printed circuit board being disposed along the columns of apertures thereof such that the strips of contacts of the respective boards intercept each other in an orthogonal relationship. As a result, the contacts of the respective columns and rows are aligned in pairs one above the other at the positions of intersection of the columns and rows. At least one of the sockets of each pair is formed as a thruway whereby selected socket contacts of one set may be electrically connected with the socket contacts of the other set which are aligned therewith by the insertion of connecting pins through the socket contacts having thruways into the socket contacts aligned therewith. Generally, the contacts in each column or row are electrically connected together and have a common means of connection to an external circuit. With such an arrangement the insertion of a connecting pin into a selected pair of sockets provides an electrical connection between two external circuits to which the respective column and row are connected.
In practice, it has been found that known programming assemblies have several shortcomings. For example, the socket contacts of the respective printed circuit boards protrude from the printed circuit boards in an opposed relationship, and thus, the boards must be sufficiently spaced from one another to prevent the contacts of each from touching one another. It will be appreciated that such space requirements are inconsistent with the industry's desire to increase component density per unit space. It will also be appreciated that a programming assembly in which the contacts are fixed parts of the printed circuit boards limits the programming flexibility of the assembly.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a programming assembly which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and use, and which allows for less space in between levels of printed circuit boards then heretofor known assemblies.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a programming assembly having the above described characteristics in which the contacts are not fixed portions of the printed circuit boards but rather a part of the respective connecting pins.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a programming assembly having the above characteristics in which the electrical contact to and among the printed circuit boards is a function solely of the spring temper and spring retention of the contact pin rather than that of a spring contact fixedly connected to the printed circuit boards.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a programming assembly as described above having greater flexibility than heretofor known assemblies such that programs may be easily changed by merely changing the position of the contact pins.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a novel contact pin for use in the above described programming assembly.